Showcase

ABSTRACT

A showcase designed to retain stable cooling performance in the case where the states of temperature as well as moisture of the air outside a commodity storage section entering the commodity storage section from respective openings are different has a showcase body having openings in at least two of its front side, rear side and left and right sides; a commodity storage section provided in the showcase body, a bottom-side air passage having an air inlet along a lower end of each opening; a side air passage extending upward along one side of the commodity storage section from the bottom-side air passage; a commodity cooling air passage formed so as to extend from the side air passage toward the other side, having an air outlets in each of the openings sides, a blower for causing air to flow from each of the air inlet into the bottom-side air passage; a cooler provided inside the bottom-side air passage for cooling the air flowing into the bottom-side air passage; and a air guiding section for guiding the air flowing from each of the air inlet to the bottom-side air passage to the air inflowing side of the cooler, whereby the air flowing from each of the air inlet is guided to the air inflowing side of the cooler so as to cool the commodity storage section with a cooling apparatus in a simple structure having one cooler.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a showcase installed in a store such as a supermarket, or a convenience store.

2. Description of Related Art

A conventional showcase of this kind is known which has a showcase body having openings at its front side, rear side and left or right side, a commodity storage section provided in the showcase body, a bottom-side air passage formed along the bottom side of the commodity storage section, a side air passage formed along the other side of the commodity storage section, a commodity cooling air passage so as to branch off from the side air passage and extend toward the other side, and a cooler as well as a blower provided in a bottom-side air passage so as to cool the air flowing in from air inlets provided along the bottom of each of the openings of the showcase body to the bottom-side air passage and let it flow out from air outlets provided in each opening side of the commodity cooling air passage to cool the commodity storage section.

Since the above described showcase having openings at its front side, rear side and left or right side, the states of temperature as well as moisture of the air outside the commodity storage section entering the commodity storage section may differ depending on the respective openings. Since the bottom-side air passage is provided with coolers brought into connection in parallel to a refrigerant circulation at its front side and rear side or each opening, different frost formation amount for the coolers could result in occurrence of difference in cooling performance. In case of defrosting operation, each cooler is different in the frost formation amount and therefore could make sure defrosting controls on the coolers complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a showcase capable of retaining stable cooling performance also in the case where the states of temperature as well as moisture of the air outside a commodity storage section entering the commodity storage section from the respective openings differ.

To achieve the above-described object, according to the present invention, there is provided a showcase including a showcase body having openings in at least two of its front side, rear side and left and right sides, a commodity storage section provided in the showcase body, a bottom-side air passage having an air inlet along a lower end of each of the openings, a side air passage extending upward along one side of the commodity storage section from the bottom-side air passage, a commodity cooling air passage formed so as to extending from the side air passage toward the other side, having air outlets in each of the openings sides, a blower for causing air to flow from each of the air inlet into the bottom-side air passage, a cooler provided inside the bottom-side air passage for cooling the air flowing into the bottom-side air passage, and a air guiding section for guiding the air flowing from each of the air inlet to the bottom-side air passage to the air inflowing side of the cooler.

This guides the air flowing in from respective air inlets to the air inflowing side of the cooler and therefore a cooling apparatus in a simple structure having one cooler cools the commodity storage section. This arrangement enables the commodity storage section to be cooled with a cooling apparatus in a simple structure having one cooler and thereby enables temperature control as well as defrosting control to be implemented easily. Also in the case where the state of temperature or moisture of the air outside entering the commodity storage section from respective openings is different, no difference in the frost formation amount will occur as in case of providing a plurality of coolers, but stable cooling performance can be retained.

The above-described and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the whole of a showcase which represents an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of the showcase;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the showcase;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view of the showcase showing a partition plate;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the showcase showing a drain pan;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the essential portion of the showcase showing a manifold;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the essential portion of a cooler; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the essential portion of the cooler.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

This showcase has a showcase body 10 having openings at its front side, rear side and left or right side, and an air passage 20 formed in the showcase body 10.

The showcase body 10 has a lower case 11 in the form of a box opened at its top, a ceiling plate 12 provided as a top cover, and a side plate 13 provided as a left or right side cover.

The lower case 11 is formed by heat insulating walls 11 a at its front, rear and bottom sides and right or left side and by the side plate 13 at the left or right side. The top opening of the lower case 11 is covered with a bottom plate 11 b placed at a distance from a bottom surface in the lower case 11 formed by the heat insulating wall 11 a. Glass plates 11 c are provided on upper-end peripheral portions of the lower case 11 except at the side plate 13 side so as to extend upward so that the bottom plate 11 b is visible in a sideway direction from the outside. A machine chamber lid is provided under the lower case 11. Pieces of refrigeration equipment such as a compressor, a condenser and a condenser blower (not shown) are housed in the machine chamber 11 d.

The ceiling plate 12 is a member in the form of a plate having a heat insulating property. The ceiling plate 12 is supported by an upper end of the side plate 13 and a supporting column 14 extending upward from a position closer to an end of the lower case 11 in the widthwise direction and generally at a center in the front-rear direction. A commodity storage section 15 is formed between the bottom plate 11 b and the ceiling plate 12. A pair of upper and lower commodity shelves 15 a are mounted in the commodity storage section 15. Commodities are placed on upper surfaces of the bottom plate 11 b and the commodity shelves 15 a.

The air passage 20 includes a bottom-side air passage 21 formed between the bottom surface in the lower case 11 and the bottom plate 11 b, a side air passage 22 formed so as to extend upward along the side plate 13, an upper commodity cooling air passage 23 formed as commodity cooling air passage along a lower surface of the ceiling plate 12, a lower commodity cooling air passage 24 formed along a lower surface of the lower commodity shelf 15 a, and a side commodity cooling air passage 25 formed in the supporting column 14.

The bottom-side air passage 21 is partitioned into a first bottom-side air passage 21 a formed along the heat insulating walls 11 a at the front side, rear side and right or left side, a second bottom-side air passage 21 b formed in a lower section except at the first bottom-side air passage 21 a, and a third bottom-side air passage 21 c formed above the second bottom-side air passage 21 b. A cooler 26 is provided in the third bottom-side air passage 21 c closer to the left or right side, and a cooler blower 27 is provided at one side of the cooler 26 closer to the right or left side of the showcase body 10.

The first bottom-side air passage 21 a communicates with the commodity storage section 15 through air inlets 21 d provided between the heat insulating walls 11 a and the bottom plate 11 b, and also communicates with the second bottom-side air passage 21 b through a plurality of circular communication holes 21 f formed in a partition plate 21 e between the first bottom-side air passage 21 a and the second. bottom-side air passage 21 b. The respective communication holes 21 f are provided in series at the front side, rear side and left or right side of the partition plate 21 e as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, and the distance L2 between the respective communication holes 21 f is formed smaller than the distance L1 between the respective communication holes 21 f so that one side of the partition plate 21 e has larger opening ratio at its front side and rear side than the other side. That is,the opening ratio of the communication holes 21 f in the partition plate 21 e at long distance from the cooler blower 27 is formed to be larger than the opening ratio of the communication holes 21 f in the partition plate 21 e at short distance from the cooler blower 27 so as to make the flow rate of the air to flow in from each air inlet 21 d become uniform in the widthwise direction of each opening.

The second bottom-side air passage 21 b communicates with the first bottom-side air passage 21 a through the communication holes 21 f and with the third bottom-side air passage 21 c through a communication hole 21 g provided below the cooler blower 27.

The third bottom-side air passage 21 c communicates with the second bottom-side air passage 21 b through the communication hole 21 g at its one side and with the side air passage 22 at its other side. The cooler 26 disposed in the third bottom-side air passage 21 c is a heat exchanger of a fin tube type consisting of a tube 26 b for distributing refrigerant for heat exchange in the front-rear direction repeatedly and a plurality of fins 26 a disposed in series in the front-rear direction. The cooler 26 is covered at the front and rear sides by a pair of side plates 26 c with the bent portion of the tube 26 b integrated to the cooler 26 c so as to come through it as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. A hermetically sealed member 26 d such as a rubber packing is provided along the outer circumference between each side plate 26 c and the fin 26 a disposed inside it so as to prevent leakage of the air from the through portion 26 e of the tube 26 b provided in each side plate 26 c. That is, the third bottom-side air passage 21 c where the cooler 26 is located and the first bottom-side air passage 21 a are designed to be partitioned by respective side plates 26 c so that the air flowing in the third bottom-side air passage 21 c and the first bottom-side air passage 21 a derived by pressure difference is discontinued by the hermetically sealed member 26 d. Under the cooler 26, a drain pan 26 f for receiving drainage as a result of cooled air and defrosting of the cooler 26 is provided. The drain pan 26 f is designed to partition the second bottom-side air passage 21 b and the third bottom-side air passage 21 c up and down. The drain pan 26 f is provided with a plurality of drainage receiving portions 26 g having inclined face toward its one side and the central side in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 5. At the lowest bottom of each drainage receiving portion 26 g, a drainage port 26 h to let the drainage flow to the second bottom-side air passage 21 b side is provided.

The side air passage 22 is provided between the side plate 13 and a duct member 22 a formed so as to be U-shaped in section and extending vertically, and communicates with the upper commodity cooling air passage 23 and with the lower commodity cooling air passage 24.

The upper commodity cooling air passage 23 is formed so as to extend along the lower surface of the ceiling plate 12 from the left or right side to the right or left side and has air outlets 23 a at its ends at the front side, rear side and left or right side. On the top inside the upper commodity cooling air passage 23, a plurality of air guiding plates 28 for letting the air flow out uniformly in the widthwise direction along each air outlet are provided as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6. Each air guiding plate 28 is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction and consists of a plurality of first air guiding plates 28 a disposed in the width direction at an interval each other and a pair of second air guiding plates 28 b adjacent to the air outlet 23 a at one side. Each first air guiding plate 28 a is formed so that its bottom side is inclined to direct to one side and the size in the vertical direction is longer than the first air guiding plate 28 a located in the other adjacent side. Each second air guiding plate 28 b is provided so as to extend obliquely toward the front and rear ends of the air outlets 23 a respectively located in one side from the central portion in the front-rear direction of the top commodity cooling air passage 23.

The lower commodity cooling air passage 24 is formed so as to extend along the lower surface of the lower commodity shelf 15 a from the left or right side to the right or left side. The lower commodity cooling air passage 24 has air outlets 24 a at its ends at the front and rear sides. Further, an end of the lower commodity cooling air passage 24 at the left or right side communicates with the side commodity cooling air passage 25.

The side commodity cooling air passage 25 is formed so as to extend vertically in the supporting column 14, and has a plurality of air outlet holes 25 a at the left or right side.

In the showcase constructed as described above, air drawn from the air inlets 21 d at the lower ends of the openings at the front side, rear side and left or right side into the first bottom-side air passage 21 a by the cooler blower 27 flows into the bottom-side air passage 21 b via communication holes 21 f opened in the partition plate 21 e. At this time, the interval of the communication holes 21 f opened in the partition 21 e is formed to make the interval of the communication holes 21 f of the partition plate 21 e located in the other side at long distance from the cooler blower 27 smaller than the interval of the communication holes 21 f of the partition plate 21 e located in one side at short distance from the cooler blower 27. Thereby, the air flows in at a uniform flow rate in the widthwise direction of each air inlet 21 d. The air flowing into the second air passage 21 b flows into the third air passage 21 c via the communication hole 21 g and is cooled by the cooler 26. The air cooled by the cooler 26 branches off and flows from the side air passage 22 into the upper commodity cooling air passage 23 and into the lower commodity cooling air passage 24. The air flowing into the upper commodity cooling air passage 23 flows out through the air outlets 23 a. Then, the air flowing in the top commodity cooling air passage 23 contacts each air guiding plate 28 and flows to one side. Thereby the air flowing out from each air outlet 23 a derives a uniform amount of air discharge in the widthwise direction of each air outlet 23 a. Part of the air flowing into the lower commodity cooling air passage 24 is let out through the air outlets 24 a at the front and rear sides, and also the other part of the air flowing into the lower commodity cooling air passage 24 flows into the side commodity cooling air passage 25 to be let out through the air outlet holes 25 a to the left or right side. The commodity storage section 15 is thereby cooled to maintain commodities placed on the commodity shelves 15 a and the bottom plate 11 b in a cooled state.

The drainage such as dew condensation water, defrosting water and the like derived in the cooler 26 will not be accumulated between the fins 26 a but will be guided by the respective drainage receiving portions 26 g of the drain pan 26 f to flow from the drainage port 26 h to the second bottom-side air passage 21 b. Therefore, the cooler 26 will not decrease in heat exchange area nor drop in cooling efficiency.

Thus, according to the showcase of the present embodiment, the air caused to flow in from each air inlet 21 d to the bottom-side air passage 21 respectively is designed to be guided to the air inflowing side of the cooler 26 so as to enable the commodity storage section 15 to be cooled by a cooling apparatus in a simple structure having one cooler 26 and enable temperature control as well as defrosting control to be implemented easily. Also in the case where the state of temperature or moisture of the air outside entering the commodity storage section 15 from respective openings is different, stable cooling performance can be retained.

The bottom-side air passage 21 consists of the first bottom-side air passage 21 a formed along each air inlet 21 d, the second bottom-side air passage 21 b formed at the bottom other than the first bottom-side air passage 21 a and the third bottom-side air passage 21 c having a cooler 26 and the cooler blower 27 being disposed to be formed above the second bottom-side air passage 21 b so as to enable the air flowing in from each air inlet 21 d to flow through the first bottom-side air passage 21 a, the second bottom-side air passage 21 b and the third bottom-side air passage 21 c sequentially to let it flow to the cooler 26, and thus there is no need to dispose the cooler 26 in the widthwise direction of each air inlet 21 d and the cooler 26 can be planned on reduction in size.

The air is let to flow in uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air inlet 21 d so as to enable the air inside the commodity storage section 15 to flow out from each air inlet 21 d without any bias and enable temperature inside the commodity storage section 15 to be planed to become uniform.

The first bottom-side air passage 21 a and the second bottom-side air passage 21 b are partitioned with the partition plate 21 e and the opening ratio of the communication holes 21 f in the partition plate 21 e at long distance from the cooler blower 27 is designed to be larger than the opening ratio of the communication holes 21 f in the partition plate 21 e at short distance from the cooler blower 27 so as to let the air flow in uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air inlet 21 d and thereby the air can be let flow in uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air inlet 21 d with a simple member so as to enable reduction in manufacturing cost to be planned.

The drainage receiving portions 26 g disposed beneath the cooler 26 consisting of an inclined face of letting the drainage derived in the cooler 26 flow in a predetermined direction, and a drain pan 26 f having a drainage port 26 h disposed at the lowest bottom of the drainage receiving portion 26 g are provided so as to enable the drainage derived in the cooler 26 to be guided to the respective drainage receiving portions 26 g of the drain pan 26 f without allowing accumulation between the fins 26 a to flow from the drainage port 26 h to the second bottom-side air passage 21 b, giving rise to no decrease in heat exchange area of the heat exchanger 26 to enable prevention of the drop in cooling efficiency.

The drainage receiving portions 26 g of the drain pan 26 f are provided in plurality in the drain pan 26 f so as to enable the length of the inclined face of each drainage receiving portion 26 g to be formed short and enable the size in the vertical direction of the drain pan 26 f to be small.

The drainage receiving portions 26 g of the drain pan 26 f are provided in plurality in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan 26 f so as to enable the size in the vertical direction of the drain pan 26 f to be formed small also in the case where the inclined face is provided so as to incline in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan 26 f.

The air is designed to let to flow out uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air outlet 23 a so as to enable temperature of the commodity storage section 15 to be retained uniformly without any bias and enable commodities in the commodity storage section 15 to be certainly cooled.

A plurality of first guiding plates 28 a are provided so as to be provided on the top inside the top commodity cooling air passage 23 so as to extend perpendicular in the direction of the air flow and be mutually disposed at an interval in the direction of the air so that the air is designed to let to flow out uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air outlet 23 a by forming each air guiding plate 28 a to have the size in the vertical direction to get longer than the air guiding plate 28 a at the mutually adjacent upstream side, and thereby the air can be let to flow out uniformly in the widthwise direction of each air outlet 23 a with a simple member so as to enable reduction in manufacturing costs.

Each first air guiding plate 28 a is caused to get inclined so as to direct the bottom side in the direction of the air flow so as to enable the air to be guided to each air outlet 23 a efficiently with the first air guiding plate 28 a without hampering the flow of the air.

The cooler 26 consists of the tube 26 b provided with a plurality of bent portions in order to let refrigerant flow in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the air flow of cooler blower 27, a plurality of fins 26 a provided in the tube so as to extend in the direction of the air flow of the cooler blower 27, a pair of side plates 26 c covering the side of the fin 26 a located in its end with their respective bent portions of the tube 26 b to come through it, and hermetically sealed member 26 d provided between the side of the fins 26 a located in its end and the side plate, and a part of the side of the third bottom-side air passage 21 c is formed by each side plate 26 c, and thereby leakage of the air from the through portion 26 e can be prevented and the air flow between the first bottom-side air passage 21 a and the third bottom-side air passage 21 c can be certainly prevented.

While the embodiment has been described with respect to the arrangement in which the present invention is applied to the showcase having openings at its front side, rear side and left or right side, a showcase having openings at its frond side and rear side or a showcase having openings a least in two faces such as a showcase having openings at its front side and rear side can give rise to the above described effect.

While the embodiment has been described with respect to the arrangement in which the cooler blower 27 is provided to the upstream side of the cooler 26, the cooler blower 27 may be provided to the downstream side of the cooler 26. In such a case, the air flow from the first bottom-side air passage 21 a to the third bottom-side air passage 21 c is discontinued by the hermetically sealed member 26 d.

The preferred embodiment described in this specification is not limitative but illustrative of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined in the appended claims, and all modifications within the meanings of the claims are included in the present invention. 

1. A showcase comprising: a showcase body having openings in at least two of its front side, rear side and left and right sides; a commodity storage section provided in the showcase body; a bottom-side air passage having an air inlet along a lower end of each of the openings; a side air passage extending upward along one side of the commodity storage section from the bottom-side air passage; a commodity cooling air passage formed so as to extend from the side air passage toward the other side, having an air outlet in each of the openings sides; a blower for causing air to flow from each of the air inlet into the bottom-side air passage; a cooler provided inside the bottom-side air passage for cooling the air flowing into the bottom-side air passage; and an air guiding section for guiding the air flowing from each of the air inlet to the bottom-side air passage to the air inflowing side of the cooler.
 2. The showcase according to claim 1, wherein: said air guiding section consist of a first bottom-side air passage formed along each of the air inlet of a bottom-side air passage, a second bottom-side air passage provided at the bottom of bottom-side air passage other than the first bottom-side air passage where the air to flow through the first bottom-side air passage flows in, and a third bottom-side air passage provided upward the second bottom-side air passage with a cooler and a blower being disposed thereon so the air flowing through the second bottom-side air passage flows in.
 3. The showcase according to claim 2, comprising: a rectifying section for setting the air flowing from said each air inlet to the bottom-side air passage at a uniform flow rate in the widthwise direction of each of the air inlet.
 4. The showcase according to claim 3, wherein: said rectifying section consist of a partition plate for partitioning the first bottom-side air passage and the second bottom-side air passage and a plurality of communication holes provided in the partition plate to bring the first bottom-side air passage and the second bottom-side air passage into communication so that the opening ratio in the partition plate at long distance from the blower gets larger than the opening ratio in the partition plate at short distance from the blower.
 5. The showcase according to claim 2, comprising: a drain pan, provided below said cooler, having a drainage receiving portion consisting of a inclined face where drainage derived in the cooler flows in a predetermined direction and a drainage port provided at the lowest bottom of the drainage receiving portion.
 6. The showcase according to claim 5, wherein: said drain pan has a plurality of drainage receiving portions and drainage ports.
 7. The showcase according to claim 6, wherein: said each of the drainage receiving portions is mutually disposed in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan.
 8. The showcase according to claim 1, comprising: a flow dividing section for making the flow rate of the air flowing out from each of the air outlet uniform in the widthwise direction of each of the air outlet.
 9. The showcase according to claim 8, wherein: said flow dividing section consist of a plurality of air guiding plates provided on the top or the bottom inside the commodity cooling air passage so as to go perpendicular to the air flowing direction and mutually disposed at an interval in the air flowing direction, and each of the air guiding plates is longer in size in the vertical direction than the adjacent air guiding plate in the upstream side in the air flowing direction.
 10. The showcase according to claim 9, wherein: each of the air guiding plates is inclined so as to direct its tip portion in the air flowing direction.
 11. The showcase according to claim 2, wherein: said cooler consists of a tube provided with a plurality of bent portions in order to let refrigerant flow in a direction perpendicular to the blowing direction of the blower, a plurality of fins provided in the tube so as to extend in the blowing direction of the blower, a pair of side plates with each bent portion of the tube being present through them and covering sides of the fins, and a hermetically sealed member provided between sides of the fins end and each of the side plates; and a part of the side of the third bottom-side air passage is formed by each of the side plates. 